The word for the hour in American politics has become “change.” There is a saying, “If you do not change your direction, you will end up where you are headed.” In many areas, we do need a change in our trajectory or we will end up where we do not want to be. Even so, before we start ran-domly changing our direction, we need to carefully determine where we want to be headed. Change can bring great rejuvenation if it is managed right, but it can bring devastation if it is not.
Almost everyone in Russia wanted a change from Tsarist rule, but not many wanted the even more oppressive communism that resulted. The American colonies wanted a change from British rule, and the result was much better. What was the difference? In times of change, both good and evil will seek to take the reins. If the good is not engaged, then evil will win and the results will be bad.
Change is a powerful word, and almost every-one seems to want it, but few seem to know how to define the changes they are seeking. This is one way that we distinguish the good change from the evil. As we are told in Proverbs 4:18-19:
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.
The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.
If we are on the path that is righteous, then we should be walking in ever increasing light. If we cannot see where we are going, it is not the right path and we will stumble. If the change we seek is not defined, we are more likely to get changes we do not want. Even if we define the changes we are seeking, if they are not managed right then the results will likely be bad. Many in the church have been crying out for change for years, but when I have asked what they want changed, they rarely have a coherent answer. Change just for the sake of change will lead to evil.
Even so, change is good, and we need it often. When a living thing stops changing, it has stopped growing and has started the process of dying. Change is a word for our time, and change is coming, but before we proceed much further, we need to ask some important questions, such as:
- What do we want to change?
- How should the changes be made?
- How do we prepare for these changes?
Christians should be the most powerful agents of change in the world. When the Lord said that His church would be “the light of the world” (see Matthew 5:14), it was the commission to light the way. Christians usually are the initiators of power trends in the world, but when they abdicate the leadership to others, the results are bad. For example, almost every musical style was born in the church, but was then seized by the world and used for more evil than good.
This is not always the case, but too often it is true that what is birthed in the church is seized by the world and used for worldly rather than godly purposes. Change is coming, and both good and bad people are trying to seize the reins of change and define it. If we are going to be the light of the world in our times, we must seize the moment and not abdicate our authority. When the Lord took His new world and gave it to Adam to cultivate, He intended to have man’s input into the develop-ment of this world. We still have that commission. We are abdicating our basic commission from the Lord when we disengage from the process.
Coming Changes
To be a prophetic voice in our times, we must understand the times. The Lord severely rebuked those who did not understand the times. The more we understand them, the more we can be used in them. Presidential campaigns have a way of bringing many things to light in both the government and the people, and therefore we would do well to understand both the issues and the people engaged in them.
Again, almost everyone has seized the word “change,” but there are some things in our gov-ernment that we do not want to change without careful, deliberate planning. Of course, this includes such things as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It was great wisdom on the part of the founding fathers to make these very difficult to change, which has helped bring the stability that our liberty, strength, and prosperity have been built upon. It was also the wisdom of the founding fathers not to make it impossible to change these because if they were too rigid they would have to be completely broken to bring necessary changes. They only wanted changing them to be difficult so that these basic pillars of our government would not be subject to whims, temporary trends, and fads, but flexible enough to be changed when and to the degree needed.
The constitution of the church, the Bible, is even more remarkable in the way that it gives basic definition and direction but allows for necessary flexibility. Wise church leaders will always be open to necessary changes, but at the same time know not to just give in to random, whimsical changes. Change needs direction, purpose, and focus or we will not like the result of it. So, let’s now be a little more specific.
What Must Change?
Constitutional democracy is the most remark-able government on earth. It has a lot of room to maneuver, adapt to the times and conditions, seize new opportunities, or to meet new emergencies, while standing on a foundation that does not move much, which gives stability for change. Even so, change of any type can have major, unforeseen consequences. In our history, we have many cases when change was implemented too fast or in an unwise way, which brought great and unnecessary troubles. Because of this, many thought that the changes were wrong, but they were right; they were just managed poorly. It is not just a matter of what needs to be changed, but how.
Now for the sobering news: The U.S. is facing a major crisis in the economy, and major changes are necessary. Without bold changes in some areas, our great ship of state will soon suffer shipwreck. If we make these changes in an unwise way, we will still suffer shipwreck and maybe even a worse one. We are in need of the wisest leadership since the Civil War. It is that serious. The present elections are the most important since 1860.
The Alarm
It is now being widely acknowledged that we are probably headed for an election year recession. If this could be avoided, it would be. This has only happened four times in U.S. history, and every time there has been a change of the party in control. It has always been avoided if at all possible. If this happens, and it appears very likely, it is because the problems are so serious they are too big to fix or delay. Economically, it feels like we are on the Titanic, entering a sea full of icebergs. The captain is starting to address the situation, and most of those vying for his job, the presidency, are also picking up on the situation. However, there has not yet been an indication from anyone that they really know how serious it is, much less have answers for it.
There is a general perception that the U.S. economy is so strong that it could never collapse, but that is a terrible presumption. Overall, the U.S. economy is probably the most stable and strongest economy in the world, but it is still capable of hit-ting an iceberg and sinking to the bottom faster than most would believe. Every other economy in the world is even more fragile.
The Symptoms
A crisis can reveal many things that can otherwise be hidden, and in some ways will quickly illuminate our true nature. When we were engaged in the Hurricane Katrina relief, we learned a lot about the present state of our government and its people. We saw the best and the worst in people. We saw the best and worst in our government. The scariest part was to see how every level of government was paralyzed until the military was brought in. Many gave far more attention to blame-shifting than to solving critical emergency situations. As is almost always the case, the ones doing the most blaming were the ones the most guilty of mismanagement.
Even though the federal government did the best in this situation, it, too, was brought to its knees quickly by this disaster, which should not have happened. Many still think that most of the problems in the relief efforts after Katrina were the result of FEMA being so poorly run; however, FEMA was poorly run because it was run like our government.
The most basic management of our government is so flawed that in a crisis, which demands major and decisive action, it has proven unable to cope. This is probably true in almost every government agency, on every level. This is highlighted in a crisis, but the day-to-day management of our government is an ongoing tragedy of waste in massive, incomprehensible proportions. We have a very basic management problem that no one is addressing, apparently because they do not see it.
A foundational belief of many political conservatives is that the government cannot manage anything well, so as much as possible the management of everything should be left in the hands of the private sector. They may not disagree with the liberal intentions as much as they do the means—trusting the government to manage anything well. However, there is another solution. There is no reason why the government cannot be managed much better than it is. In fact, just implementing some good, basic management principles into government could reduce costs by 35 percent, while increasing government services and effectiveness by 35 percent. This would just be a start, and it could actually be much better.
It may sound like the culture of inefficiency in government is so deeply entrenched now that it is not possible to change it, which is probably one reason why no one is addressing this. These are false assumptions. Most government bureaucrats do work hard and want to do a good job, but in many ways the government is like a car that may have 300-hp and is using all of it, but it is stuck in the sand and therefore is not going anywhere. A lot of work is being put out—it is just not accomplish-ing much or nearly as much as it should be.
True Leadership
In government, we also have some basic judgment issues. Presumption leads to bad judgment. In the case of the Titanic, even if it had been unsinkable, to hit an iceberg would have caused serious damage and potential injury or loss of life to many. Captain Smith had been given numerous warnings about the ice field he was headed into, but seemed more concerned with breaking the record to New York than the basic safety of his passengers and crew. He did not even give his watchmen binoculars, which they had asked for. Had they been supplied with them, they would have almost certainly avoided the iceberg that sent them to the bottom of the sea.
How could a captain be so irresponsible? One thing explains it—pride. Captain Smith was made the skipper of the Titanic because he had never had an accident at sea. This obviously made him presumptuous, which leads to carelessness. This seemingly likable, wise, noble, old gentleman caused the death of many because of his pride.
There are many people in America who will vote for a candidate because they are likeable, rather than for the substance of their character, what they stand for, or their true leadership potential. Presently, if one has made mistakes in the past, it is trumpeted as a basic disqualification from leadership. What we really need is someone who is honest and humble enough to admit their mistakes, while having learned from them.
The Apostle Paul talked about how he learned it was better to boast in his weakness than in his strengths, because God’s strength was made perfect in weakness. This is because, as we are told repeatedly in Scripture, God gives His grace to the humble, and He resists the proud (see James 4:6). The whole world is sailing into the most dangerous waters we have ever sailed in, and we need leaders who are wise enough to be humble and seek God’s grace because we can sink without His help.
The White Star Line would likely have done much better to have chosen a captain for the Titanic who had made a few mistakes and learned from them. In the U.S., the sub-prime credit crisis was an iceberg that the U.S. economy hit and we have been quite severely damaged by it, taking on water. There are other icebergs all around us now, and we have actually hit a number of other ones, too. We do not need to be going full speed ahead at this time. A slowing of the economy is actually a good and very healthy thing, at least temporarily. People will start appreciating and doing better at their jobs. Productivity goes up, and the damage gets fixed quickly, so we can move ahead again with a bit more wisdom. We also need to make a major course change to get out of this ice field.
The U.S. economy could have been sunk by the sub-prime crisis. The damage is being addressed, quite wisely, but it is still very serious. We need continued strong, decisive action, and we will need it from the next President because we will not be out of this situation when the change of administration comes. However, some of the proposals that are being made for the economy would be the equivalent of setting off a bomb inside the ship. We are in desperate need of a President who really understands the economy. There is terrible danger if our leadership does not act or overreacts. To push change in the wrong direction will greatly exacerbate the problem. So what must we do?
Answer #1
We need to admit that there is a problem. There are times when some emergencies can be fixed without calling for general quarters and disturbing everyone with the problem. This is not one of them. When people feel that there is something very wrong, but no one is admitting it, they lose their faith and peace. Illuminating a problem can give more faith to leadership and their proposed solutions. This is the time to shine the light on some basic problems so they can be fixed.
In truth, the U.S. is facing the worst economic emergency since the Depression. This is the biggest and potentially most devastating emergency we will face in the immediate future. It is becoming the biggest issue in the presidential elections, and rightly so. It is where some of the most dramatic changes are needed. However, it is also where the wrong changes will be even more destructive. We need to ask three basic questions:
- What is happening?
- What is not happening?
- What can we do about it?
What is happening is “a perfect storm” of conditions that are coming together, combining to produce the most potentially devastating eco-nomic storm we have faced in the last seventy-five years. These conditions are:
- The sub-prime credit crisis
- Rising energy prices
- The falling dollar
- Rising deficits
- A growing payout for entitlements
- Increasing weakness and instability in the economic infrastructure
- Increasing fear, which shuts down initiative
There are other factors too, but these are the big ones. These are all starting to feed on the others and increase. We are in the beginning stages of what a pilot would call “a death spiral” from which it is very hard to recover. That’s the bad news, but there is good news.
The good news is that these problems are coming to light, and therefore are much more likely to be addressed and fixed. If they are addressed correctly, the U.S. economy can be greatly strengthened for decades to come. This can and should result in the lifting up of the entire world economy. This will compute to a much greater stability and peace in the world as well as the ability to address serious problems being faced by developing nations.
The enemies of America and the West are as weary of conflict as America is. There is a great desire for peace in the world right now, and we need peace. This does not mean that we should lay down our arms or compromise with evil, but peace really is possible. War is the worst judgment of all on humanity, and peace is one of the greatest blessings. The Lord said that He would bless the peacemakers (see Matthew 5:9), and as Christians, we are commanded to seek to be at peace, even with our enemies. We are told in James 3:18 that “…the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. There is an open door right now for relative peace in the world for the next decade. If we use this time wisely, it can be extended. However, we have an emergency that we need to address a bit further.
Fix America’s Economy – Save the World
This will sound very egotistical to most non-Americans, but it is true in a number of ways. The world economy is not totally dependent on the U.S. economy, but as the saying goes, “If America sneezes, the world catches a cold.” The U.S. economy is presently the linchpin economy. If we go down, the rest of the world might survive, but not very easily. However, this is not the only way that saving the U.S. economy could help save the world economy. The problems that are currently being illuminated in our economy are found woven throughout the world economy. It will only be a matter of time before everyone will be facing them. If we are back on solid ground, then we will be able to help many others.
So how do we fix all of this? First, we need some drastic changes. We must quit flailing at the branches and put the ax to the root of the tree on some ultimate problems. However, if we make some changes too fast, they can create even bigger problems. That is the tightrope that will require supernatural wisdom to walk.
One issue that is causing the increasing instability in the economic infrastructure is the constant changing of the rules. Those who have been subject to such whimsical changes caused by those in government who are trying to micromanage the economy, which they do not understand, are definitely cringing when they hear the word “change.” To them, it is like playing a game and just when you think you’re winning, the rules get changed and suddenly the most brilliant strategy you had for winning has caused you to lose. So, even though drastic change is needed, it must be done carefully, and in many areas, gradually.
The real driving force of the U.S. economy is small business. They are also the ones who can be the biggest victims of government mismanagement of the economy. However, if they see wise, knowledgeable leadership at the top, and the rules are changed to what is right and effective, it will give enough hope to substantially boost the economy. Our economy, and indeed most of the world’s economies, are built to a large degree on hope.
Again, some drastic changes are needed, but they need to be managed and made slowly enough for those engaged to plan their own changes in order to adapt to the new rules of the game. But what should the new rules be? Basically, it should mean fewer rules. How does that apply? The biggest factor that undermined FEMA’s ability to cope with the problems created by Hurricane Katrina was the layers of regulations imposed on the FEMA workers. You could see them being tied in knots trying to figure out what they could and could not do.
The biggest tragedies were caused by overregulation. One such example was when a fuel truck driver delivering fuel to emergency crews in Slidell drove off without delivering the fuel because they did not have FEMA approved receptacles! The mayor of Slidell had to order his emergency workers to go to the airport and drain fuel from airplanes to use in their emergency vehicles. Lives may have been lost because of this, and having to use avgas in emergency vehicles eventually burned up their engines. Of course, there are many more such horror stories in that crisis, which received a lot of publicity, but there are such incidents happening daily because of basic mismanagement in our government.
A Needed Regulation
As a pilot, we were drilled continually on emergencies because during an actual emergency there is usually no time to get out the manual and read about the problem. There are also some emergencies that arise that are unique and no checklists have been made for them. For those, being knowledgeable enough of your plane and other conditions is needed to improvise. If you panic, you will likely die. You must make sound decisions quickly. To facilitate this, the FAA established a very wise rule that basically states that in an emergency you can break any other rule needed in order to meet that emergency. An explanation as to why the rules were broken may be needed, but you are free to break any if you think it will help during the crisis. That rule should be fundamental in just about every agency when an emergency is declared. Save people first—then worry about the rules.
Currently, the great crisis in the country is this very thing—too many rules! We must free the economy of many unnecessary and often counter-productive regulations. A true simplification of the tax code would bear huge dividends, releasing huge resources, energy, and time now devoted to record-keeping and tax planning, not to mention just understanding the taxes.
Think about how much better everyone would begin to feel with this. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were basic rights expressed in our Declaration of Independence, and this would certainly go a long way to making us happier! Of course, paying less in taxes would make us even happier, and giving significant tax breaks to every-one would be a real possibility if we address the one problem of overregulation.
It would be difficult to find hard figures on this presently, but overregulation is probably reducing efficiency in the economy by at least 35 percent, and it could well be as high as 65 percent. Just reducing regulations to those that are really needed would strengthen and stir healthy growth in our economy more than any other single factor. It sounds too simple and too good to be true, but it is true.
Why are none of the presidential candidates talking about this? Because most of them are lawyers whose craft is basically responsible for this mess we are now in. This is not intended to be an attack on lawyers, but it will be hard for a lawyer to even see this—seeing it is just the beginning of what it will take to solve it.
To confront and overcome this basic shackle on our country will not only take heroic courage, resolve, and focus, but it will cut across the grain of basic legal training and practice. That is why it will be hard for lawyers to see this problem and much harder to fight the fight that it will take to resolve it. We must leave room for the grace of God. Remember, it was Paul the Apostle, the “Pharisee of Pharisees,” the most legalistic of his generation, who, once converted, became the greatest champion of grace. However, to date, not a single lawyer campaigning for President has given any indication that they even see the problem, much less have the ability to deal with it.
Love Your Lawyer
Again, this is not intended to be an attack on lawyers, but we should get them out of government, at least for a while. Indeed, the modern world could not function without them, but their influence has gone to an extreme that must be reined in. It is rare to meet a lawyer who does not think they understand business and the economy, and it is rare to find one who really does. A lawyer’s education and training is basically contrary to a real understanding of business.
Even if this were not generally the case, the U.S. government and economy have been tied in knots by overregulation, the result of a legalistic mentality that responds to problems with rules rather than with leadership or good management. For this reason, the last thing we need is a lawyer in the White House, and we need most of them run out of Congress for a while, too. We need a basic change in the mentality of the leadership from a legal, regulation-oriented rule maker, to a true leader and a good manager.
One good example of this crushing legal mentality is the recent U.S. budget submitted by Congress. It was 3,200 pages! Congress only had a couple of days to consider it before passing it. Who had time to read what was in it? Probably the only ones who will read it now are lobbyists who want to get their pork out of the barrel. You can be quite sure that the budget presented to Congress could have been 10 percent that size, just as most laws and contracts could be without losing any real content.
The language of the lawyer, legalese, is the language of Babylon, which means “confusion.” It is a crushing weight on our government, our economy, and our people. That is why we need a President who is a leader and a liberator—not a lawyer! We need to be reticent to vote for any lawyer for any office for some time. I say “reticent” because there are always exceptions. However, not many Pharisees became like Paul, and many who were converted caused many problems in the church that we continue to battle to this day because of their legalistic mentality. This is why the Lord warned His disciples to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees” (see Matthew 16:6). It is a creeping contamination that is very hard to get out of the bread once it is in.
Can the leaven of legalism that is choking the U.S. government and economy ever be removed? We know that all things are possible with God, but it will take God’s help. This is beyond human remedy, but it is also a crisis that, if not solved, will choke out the strength and life of America.
I have had contracts presented to me that were over twenty-five pages for simple real estate transactions. When I refused to sign them if they could not be reduced to four pages or less, they claimed it could not be done, but then they did it. When I asked if any important terms had been left out, they said no. Why do lawyers write twenty-five pages when they could write four? Maybe it started because they get paid by the hour, but it has gone beyond that. There is a legal mentality rooted in paranoia, an exaggerated fear of lawsuits, which they themselves created. It has our country tied down like the fictional character, Gulliver. No other country in the world has the amount of lawyers per capita as the U.S. or is even close. America will die from being either starved or choked to death by this problem if it is not addressed soon.
Another Swing of the Ax
Here’s another big one rooted in the same problem—tort reform would fix the major problems with health care almost immediately, and many other basic and devastating problems hindering our economy. Why is no one addressing this? Lawyers have been quick to put yokes on everyone else but themselves, and they are the ones who need the biggest shackle at this time.
In America, 35 percent or more is included in the cost of many big ticket items just for liability insurance. The cost of malpractice insurance is not only a huge part of our health care bill, but it is driving many good doctors from practice because they cannot pay the premiums for this insurance.
This is already cutting deeply into the future of health care as well. Many young and gifted people who would love to become doctors are not going to risk twelve years of college and training for a profession in which every day they would face the pressure of knowing that just one mistake could result in a lawsuit, costing them their insurance, their ability to practice as doctors, and ultimately ending their careers. This pressure itself has probably caused many needless mistakes.
Another terrible result of this is the fact that, because of the threat of lawsuits, doctors cannot even admit their mistakes, which means others cannot learn from them, causing countless others to be at risk or suffer. This system is broken and must be fixed, but the remedies now being proposed—having the government manage health care, is shockingly naïve and foolish. That is like trying to cure diabetes by injecting the patient with cancer.
It is true that the huge judgments against major companies, such as the pharmaceuticals, have probably saved many lives, making them much more cautious in developing and manufacturing their products. However, it has also meant that every one of us, because of the liability insurance, is paying double or more of what we otherwise would for these products, and pricing them far beyond the ability of some who need them to be able to get them. Just capping the liability, and then gradually reducing it to what is reasonable, would immediately allow the insurance companies to be able to more accurately forecast their actual exposure and begin greatly reducing premiums for insurance. We also need to provide a system that rewards doctors and health care workers for admitting their mistakes which does not condemn them. There should be penalties for carelessness and a revoking of a license for habitual or repeated violations, but not the kind of condemnation they are now faced with for a single mistake.
The U.S. does, at this time, with all of its flaws, have the best health care in the world. Even so, we are at the point of a meltdown and it must be addressed. However, a government-run, nationalized health care system would be a tragedy for health care and the economy. As someone said, “If you think health care is expensive now, just wait until it’s free!” We could also expect a quick reduction in the quality of health care if the government takes it over. However, there are answers that could correct the major problems, which could actually make it possible for the greatest health care in the world to be available to every citizen and legal guest in our country.
Again, the government has, in general, proven to be the most ineffective, inefficient manager of almost anything. It has been said that Winston Churchill stated, “If you’re not a liberal when you’re 20, you have no heart. If you’re not a conservative when you’re 40, you have no mind!” The intention of liberals is often very noble. It is the solutions they propose that are so devastating. Leo Tolstoy addressed this in his classic novel, War and Peace. In this novel, Count Pierre was a bleeding heart liberal contending for the plight of the serfs. He sincerely cared about them, but was such a poor manager that his own serfs were far worse off than Prince Andrei’s. Prince Andrei, who was a conservative, was a good man and cared about people, but was not driven as much by com-passion as just good business sense, and because of this, his workers were far better off than Pierre’s. Who would you rather work for?
Currently, we have government agencies that for every $100 in their budget only $10 will make it to the need of the agency for which it was created. On a scale of efficiency, that would rate such an agency as 10 percent efficient. This is common in government and even in some chari-ties that have become like large bureaucracies in their administration. This is not acceptable. The job could and should be done with no more than 15 percent being consumed in administration and 85 percent making it to the need.
I do not consider the terrible inefficiency of government to be the fault of bureaucrats as much as the terrible burden of regulations that most of them must now try to operate under. Most bureaucrats would love to be able to do their job better and more efficiently, and many should be considered heroes for getting as much done as they do in the frustrating conditions they now work under. Every time you drive over a bridge that does not fall down, or eat in a restaurant and do not get food poisoning, we should be thankful for a bureaucrat who did their job. These are some of the greatest servants in our nation, and we need to help them by setting them free.
Our government could get accomplish more at a fraction of what we are paying for it now. We could easily balance the budget of the U.S. government, while actually increasing the quality and quantity of its services, including defense. Why hasn’t this been done? Why are none of the candidates talk-ing about the real issues here—bad management and overregulation? Again, we cannot expect the lawyers to see it, but the leaven of this legalism and using a new rule to confront every new problem has blinded just about everyone in government, on any level.
If you take the waste out of the U.S. govern-ment and put this money back into the hands of the people and businesses, no economy in the world could compete with the U.S. economy on any level, unless they too learned to manage it right. One reason the Chinese economy is boom-ing is because they do not have the lawsuit threats and all of the bondage that comes with these, yet they still have layers of bureaucracy. If we had basic tort reform, coupled with freedom from the unnecessary and counter-productive layers of regulation, there would be no competition for the U.S. economy in the world.
Currently, a huge part of our GDP is going to waste. Waste is a sin, and according the Lord’s teaching in the Parable of the Talents, it is a bad sin that will cause Him to call us a “wicked, lazy slave” (see Matthew 25:26), casting us into outer darkness. Managing what we have been entrusted with is so crucial that it has been estimated that up to one half of the teachings in Scripture on righteousness are concening stewardship. Righ-teousness is basically doing things right.
I am not advocating this efficiency just so we can have more ourselves, but we could help raise the standard of living for every developing nation on earth. We could institute an economic “Marshall Plan” for developing nations that could raise the standard of living worldwide, and at the same time actually strengthen our own economy by doing it. Contrary to what many think, the Marshall Plan was not just aid or charity extended to World War II devastated Europe, but it was a mobilization of U.S. companies to invest in Europe which paid off handsomely! This could be done in developing nations in a way that would help stabilize and prosper them, while also benefiting our economy. Sure, some of them would rise up and begin to compete with us, but competition is a healthy thing, and if we rein in tort and excessive regula-tion, it will be a very long time before anyone could really compete with the U.S.
Conclusion
Are the answers to these huge problems really that simple? Yes, basically they really are. The answers to our great problems in almost every area are very simple, and in fact the answer is to simplify. Just simplifying the tax code would be a huge boost. However, if we are not delivered from the basic legalistic mentality, it will soon be overcomplicated again. That’s why we must stop flailing at the branches of our major problems and put the ax to the root of the tree. Tort reform is an absolute essential at this time. It is not the only thing, but it would clear the way for fixing most of the other matters. We can help turn the tide by individually refusing to sign any contract that we cannot understand, that is not written in plain English, and is the length it should be to state the agreement clearly and succinctly. Lawyers want to write contracts in a language in which they are the only ones who can understand because it is called “job security.” Well, their job security is starting to threaten everyone else’s job, and it is time for us to take a stand and refuse to allow this to keep happening.
It is crucial for the chief executives on federal, state, and local levels to be given line item veto power. A huge amount of foolishness, waste, and very bad laws are passed by attaching them to essential legislation that this would fix. Of course, those who would lose much of their power to corrupt and waste will try to scare everyone into thinking that this gives too much power to the chief executive, but that is the deception people have bought into, which has allowed the crisis of waste and inefficiency to get to the level where it now is. It is a basic, obvious truth that chief executives do not have the power of line item veto. To prove that line item veto can have major positive results, why not give them line item veto power for just two years so we can see how it works? It will work so well that the whole country will cry out to then make it permanent, but this trial basis takes the wind out of the arguments against it.
Everyone is saying the system is broken, but to date no one is proposing ways to really fix it. I am just touching on a few matters very superficially. There are other issues I will address if the response to this Bulletin is something our readers care to hear more about.
You may wonder why I would write this in a Prophetic Bulletin, but almost all of these same issues are strangling the life of the church as well. We must get free of this prevailing legalistic mentality, which is actually a principality. The answer to legalism is not lawlessness, but in the next issue we will address a root of the growing lawlessness, which the Scriptures make clear will be one of the ultimate issues of our times.
Also, the church is called to be the light of the world. That means we should have the answers for the world’s problems, the light for its darkness. In the Old Testament, the prophecies were called “burdens” or “the burden of the word of the Lord”(see Zechariah 9:1, 12:1). I have personally felt an increasing burden about these matters to the degree that I had to share them. There is a company of prophets being raised up in our times like Daniel and his friends, who will be found to have many times more wisdom and understanding than anyone, in “every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them” (see Daniel 1:20). Some of these will become government leaders like Daniel. It is their calling. Others will take their place as the head of corporations, industries, the military, and in positions of authority, in order to give as much leadership and stability as possible until the King Himself returns to set up His kingdom. The ones who know the “all knowing One” should have far more knowledge in anything than anyone else. This is not a basis for pride, but the result of a genuine devotion to truth, to love God, and to love our neighbors.
